


Another kind of faithful

by ChopinWorshipper



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: F/M, Gen, Queerplatonic Aphrodite/Hephaistos (if you squint), this is kinda philosophical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24737923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChopinWorshipper/pseuds/ChopinWorshipper
Summary: A letter from Ares to Hephaistos, trying to explain his relationship with Aphrodite.
Relationships: Aphrodite/Ares (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Ares & Hephaestus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41





	Another kind of faithful

_"Dear little brother, _

_ Since that golden net incident you have never given me the chance to tell you how I feel.  _

_ And because you don't listen to me, I'm sending you this letter.  _

_ Please read all of it.  _

_ When you've finished, you can burn it if you want, just … hear me out. _

_ From the way you're acting I can tell that you don't know much about love and commitment. But I do, even though I don't know much about pretty much everything else. So I'm going to explain a few things to you. _

_ A lot of people (and gods) confuse faithfulness and loyalty with monogamy.  _

_ In some cases that's justified, in others not so much. How many gods in my family are in that sense faithful to their spouse? I could count them on one hand and still have fingers left. You would know that, wouldn't you? _

_ In that sense, Aphrodite and I aren't faithful to each other either. Hard to say who's had more lovers, her or me. I think my arsehole father is the only guy she's rejected so far. _

_ However, there is another kind of faithful.  _

_ I'm talking about the spiritual, emotional connection to a person. _

_ Surprised?  _

_ Didn't expect something that deep to come out of my mouth, did you? Believe it or not, I'm not as stupid as you think. But of course that could also be Aphrodite rubbing off on me. _

_ If you consider emotional bonds, you will find that some gods, despite having many lovers, have a deep genuine affection for their spouse only. _

_ I mean, look at uncle Poseidon. He's had more mistresses than Zeus, that blue-bearded fucker. But he genuinely loves Amphitrite above all things. _

_ As for our mother dearest … she is monogamous, but she isn't loyal to Zeus, not anymore. Trust me, I would know. _

_ And me and Aphrodite? _

_ Of course I love her. The things I'd do for her, you have no idea. _

_ Yeah, I do have countless affairs, but if I ever truly loved anyone, it's her.  _

_ You know, when I first saw her, I was smitten by her beauty, just like all the others. At first I thought that was it. A stupid, infatuation that had nothing to do with love. _

_ But the longer I knew her, the more I realised, that it wasn't just her beauty. I love her laugh, her tears, even her childish tantrums and her terrifying anger.  _

_ It terrified me. I, who only knew my parents' shitload of a marriage, had sworn to never fall in love. And then she came and BAMM! It left me feeling raw and exposed.  _

_ What scared me even more was that she seemed interested in me too.  _

_ It couldn't be true! Surely she was only interested in my looks. I know what I look like, after all. What else would she like about me? I was a monster, even back then. _

_ But she didn't care. Crazy, huh? I was pretty weirded out too. _

_ I tried to get rid of her in all possible ways. But she'd always come back, till I finally believed her. And that's how it all started.  _

_ Despite all the lovers we had, despite the ups and downs and the turbulences, we stayed together. No matter how many lovers she had, I could always be sure that she would return to me and vice versa, Aphrodite knew that. We had no reason to be jealous of each other's escapades. They were just flings, nothing to worry about. _

_ There were only two times I got seriously jealous. _

_ The first time was when mommy dearest made Aphrodite marry you. _

_ Yes, it was an arsehole move of me to fuck her in your bed and I deeply regret it, I really do. I'm sorry that I broke your heart. _

_ But mine's been broken too. _

_ Do you have the faintest idea what it feels like to have to stand and watch, as the one you love marries another man?  _

_ When others tear you apart and there is nothing you can do about it?  _

_ You said I stole her from you, but that's not true. You can't lose something that never was yours to begin with.  _

_ Don't get me wrong, she really likes you. In a way even loves you. It pisses me off and makes me jealous how she can go on about you for hours sometimes. _

_ And then there was Adonis. _

_ I'm not good enough with words to describe, how much I hated him, how often I wondered, what she could possibly see in him (Okay, I don't know what she sees in  me either, but you get the idea). But this brat, she was obsessed with him! I saw her less and less, we hardly got to talk and when we were together, she was thinking of him. I was scared of losing the only person who had ever made me feel truly happy and loved. _

_ Yes, I killed him.  _

_ Well, you probably already know that. You're the smart one of us after all. _

_ Aphrodite needed ages to forgive me. _

_ And you … you still haven't forgiven me, after thousand years. If you don't want to forgive me even now (or ever) I'll accept that. _

_ But you should know - whether you hate me or not, I don't hate you. _

_ When you were Aphrodite's husband, I saw you as a rival and honestly, I still think you're kind of a smartarse.  _

_ But first and foremost, you're my baby brother.  _

_ First time I saw you, you had just been born. You were a cute baby, you know, with your stubbly little legs, these huge brown eyes and that bubbly, cute little giggle and smile. And just like that, you stole my heart. I was devastated, when mother told me that she had given you away. _

_ As your older brother, even though I act like a complete jerk to you, I love you and you mean the world to me. Whether you hate me or not, I love you, always have and always will. It hurts me that you hate me and that I have so few fond memories of us together.  _

_ But if you want me to stay away from you forever, if you choose to keep hating me, then so be it. I respect your decision.  _

_ Just know that you will always be my baby brother to me. _

_ Yours truly,  _

_ Ares."_


End file.
